Hashtags come to Facebook today

The feature, made so popular on Twitter to add context and shared interests to tweets, will be clickable on Facebook.

Hashtags are also a staple of Instagram, Tumblr and Pinterest.

When a user clicks on a hashtag within their Facebook profile, they will see a feed of what other people and pages are saying about a topic or event.

"Imitation is the best form of flattery, though this is long overdue," says Teresa Caro, senior vice president of social at Engauge, a marketing and advertising agency. "Facebook has to do this to be relevant among advertisers, especially as they try to reach consumers."

Facebook faces stiff competition on the advertising front -- in particular from Google -- since search is so influential in consumers' purchasing decisions, she says.

Facebook made the announcement in a blog post on Wednesday. It hopes to capitalize on the kind of user activity that generated 66.5 million likes, comments and posts during the Academy Awards this year.

The new feature on Facebook is one of several in the pipeline expected from the social network in coming weeks.